The LSI at a glance

The LSI or « Laboratoire des Solides Irradiés », french for Irradiated Solids Laboratory, is a mixed unit affiliated to the CEA, the CNRS and the Ecole Polytechnique. Within the CEA, the laboratory is part of the DSM or Direction des Sciences de la Matière / Direction of Science of Matter, and more particularly, of the Institut Rayonnement Matière de Saclay / Saclay Matter and Radiation Institute (IRAMIS). As for the CNRS, the LSI is principally affiliated to the Institut de Physique / Insitute of Physics (INP), and accessarily to the Institut de Chimie / Insitute of Chemistry. The sections of the National Committee / Comité National to which the LSI pertains are 3, 5 (principal section), and 11.

The LSI is located on the campus of the Ecole Polytechnique. One researcher of the LSI has his experimental installation in the Saclay research centre of the CEA, where he works in close harmony with the IRMAIS Laser platform. Another two researchers of the LSI have part of their activity located at the SOLEIL Synchrotron.

The Laboratoire des Solides Irradiés studies fundamental properties of the solid state and its diverse interactions with radiation (photons, electrons, ions), with, as multiple goals

the comprehension of factors determining materials’ response to radiation

to control the structural modification of (nano-)materials

to provoke the emergence of novel properties (and to control them)

to devise materials for the needs of industry and society

For this, the LSI develops :

innovative approaches to irradiation and defect characterization

novel methods for (nano-)material synthesis

new theory

experimental tools for the study pour of the ground state, excitations, and transport phenomena

An important component of the laboratory is its multi-disciplinarity, which allows it to develop transverse projects in materials sciences. The weight of theory to experiment within the laboratory is approximately 1/3, the possibility of direct exchange and interaction between theoreticians and experimentalists is one of the major assets of the laboratory.